Venus, favorites keep winning

Friday

Aug 29, 2008 at 5:04 AMAug 29, 2008 at 4:53 PM

By BEN WALKERAP National Writer

NEW YORK — Venus Williams and James Blake kept favorites on the fast track at the U.S. Open, with top-seeded Rafael Nadal and Ana Ivanovic hoping to join them later Thursday in reaching the third round.

David Ferrer, Andy Murray and Dinara Safina also moved on, and that's mostly been the pattern so far at Flushing Meadows — big names facing little trouble.

Through the early action on Day 4, only two top players had been upset in the tournament: No. 8 Vera Zvonareva and No. 10 Anna Chakvetadze.

The seventh-seeded Williams overwhelmed Rossana de Los Rios 6-0, 6-3, winning on her fifth match point and needing only 59 minutes to advance.

"I'm very satisfied so far, the way it's gone," Williams said.

Williams breezed past an opponent ranked 117th. After teaming with her sister to win Olympic gold in doubles, she stayed on course to play Serena in the quarterfinals here.

"Whichever way the draw goes, whichever way the matches go, as long as hopefully it's a win for me, I'm pretty happy about it," she said.

Williams is the last woman to win consecutive championships at the U.S. Open, but hasn't taken the title since 2001.

"Oh yes, I remember. I won't forget, but I'd like to have a more recent memory as of, like, '08," she said. "Kind of overdue."

Blake moved on when Steve Darcis pulled out because of a bad lower back. Seeded ninth and coming off a tough, five-set match in the first round, Blake lost the first set 4-6, then won 6-3 and was ahead 1-0 when Darcis retired.

Ivanovic played in the late afternoon. Nadal and Serena Williams were set for the night session.

The No. 6-seeded Safina, not nearly as volatile as brother Marat Safin, played under control in beating Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-3. The Russian seemed perturbed just once, when she challenged a line call — she was right — and earned a replay of a point late in the second set.

The 22-year-old Safina has won 17 of her last 18 matches, losing only to Elena Dementieva for the Olympic gold medal.

Radwanska beat Mariana Duque Marino 6-0, 7-6 (3) and fittingly won the final point at net. Last year, the Polish teen made a splash at the U.S. Open when she startled Maria Sharapova, often walking halfway to the service box and hopping before backing up to receive.

That breakthrough win over Sharapova came in the third round. This time, Radwanska will play Cibulkova in the third round.

Cornet rallied in the first-set tiebreaker to fashion a 7-6 (5), 6-1 over Bethanie Mattek. The 18-year-old French teen took advantage of Mattek's four straight misses to close out the opening set.

Mattek is known for her outlandish outfits — she started out last year's Open in a revealing, metallic gold Wonder Woman get-up and later wore a leopard-print ensemble. Her attire for this match was downright conservative by her standards, featuring a white top that was wide open in the back and a black skirt.

Now ranked No. 44 after a successful season, Mattek lost in her first matchup with Cornet. Mattek came to the Open without a coach and sometimes uses YouTube to scout players she's never faced.

Cornet stayed aggressive, highlighted by a sequence in the first set when she hit so many overhead slams in succession, the linesman keep retreating to give Mattek more room to maneuver.